BLUE 1,026 Posted October 14, 2011 TIME: 01:00 P.M. ESTVENUE: Heinz Field Early struggles may have led some to believe the Pittsburgh Steelers were in trouble. Coming off a dominating victory, the defending AFC champions have a chance to continue proving the doubters wrong when they host the woeful Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Injuries and inconsistency led to a mediocre start for Pittsburgh (3-2), including losses to Baltimore and Houston and a last-second victory over winless Indianapolis. Heading into last week's matchup with Tennessee, many wondered if the Steelers could overcome injuries to defensive standout James Harrison and running back Rashard Mendenhall, as well as starters in the secondary and offensive line. Ben Roethlisberger also entered the game with a slightly sprained left foot. None of those issues seemed to matter, though, as Pittsburgh rolled to a 38-17 victory with Roethlisberger's five touchdown passes tying a career high. "People were saying the Pittsburgh Steelers was banged up, and they didn't have any guys to fill the roles," linebacker LaMarr Woodley said. "But we had guys that (were) ready to come in and play." Mendenhall is ready to go after sitting out last weekend with a hamstring injury. Jonathan Dwyer and Isaac Redman handled the load against the Titans, with Dwyer rushing for 107 yards on 11 carries in his second NFL game and Redman carrying the ball 15 times for 49 yards. The defense held Tennessee to 306 total yards despite missing cornerback Bryant McFadden, who is battling hamstring problems but could be ready to return. "We had a lot of guys filling in so we just got back to the basics, I think, on both sides of the ball," Woodley said. "And that really helped us out." The Steelers held Chris Johnson to 51 yards rushing, and they'll look for a similar effort Sunday when lining up against Maurice Jones-Drew. Jacksonville (1-4) hasn't used Jones-Drew in the passing game as much this season, though the veteran has rushed for at least 84 yards in each of the team's five games. He's averaging 5.0 yards per carry and ranks fourth in the NFL with 476 rushing yards. "Whether you talk about offense, defense or special teams, there's probably no one in football that means more to their team than Maurice Jones-Drew, in terms of the things he's capable of doing and the things he does," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "When you watch him on tape, he's a very physical runner. He has great vision, power and speed." Still, Jones-Drew's production hasn't been enough to carry the Jaguars. Coach Jack Del Rio accepted blame for last Sunday's 30-20 loss to Cincinnati, though he didn't have much to do with the turnovers and mental lapses that cost Jacksonville a win. Veteran punter Matt Turk was released Monday after a series of awful punts, including a 22-yarder which put the Bengals in position to score the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. That came after rookie Blaine Gabbert threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to Jason Hill for a 20-16 lead with 8:24 remaining. However, Gabbert also later fumbled a snap when Jacksonville was driving in an attempt to tie the game. "It is frustrating to be in the situation we are in right now with our record, but the main thing is we have to stick together," linebacker Paul Posluszny said. "We have to stick together as a team, come together, learn from the mistakes we made ... and start playing some winning football." Gabbert has completed only 49.5 percent of his passes, and his 71.2 passer rating ranks 30th in the league. Del Rio, though, is confident in his young signal-caller. "We've got a good young quarterback that's playing well, we just need to find ways to close these games out," Del Rio said. The Steelers won 26-21 at Jacksonville in the most recent meeting Oct. 5, 2008. The last matchup in Pittsburgh came Jan. 5, 2008, when the Jaguars won 31-29 in a wild-card game. Source: CBSSports.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigBen07 285 Posted October 15, 2011 I smell a trap game here, but if the Steelers do what they did last week, then there should be no trouble. 31 14 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos 2,847 Posted October 15, 2011 I think the Jags lose, but I also think their defense gives Ben plenty of trouble. 13 23 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted October 16, 2011 45 10 Get out of here with that shit... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sarge+ 3,436 Posted October 16, 2011 (edited) I hope the Steelers that showed up last week show up again. If they do... 30 13 Edited October 16, 2011 by Sarge Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
housemd 338 Posted October 16, 2011 45 10 Get out of here with that shit... Like the result... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted October 16, 2011 Jaguars declared CB Derek Cox, FB Montell Owens, LB Clint Session, C/G Jason Spitz, WR Kassim Osgood, and DT Nate Collins inactive for Week 6. William Middleton and Rashean Mathis will start at outside cornerback, with Drew Coleman covering the slot. Session, Cox, and Spitz are all starters. Daryl Smith is active after passing all of his baseline concussion tests. Steelers declared RB Mewelde Moore, RT Marcus Gilbert, NT Casey Hampton, OLB James Harrison, OLB Jason Worilds, G Chris Kemoeatu, and DE Aaron Smith inactive for Week 6 against Jacksonville. Worilds, a former second-round pick, returned to practice this week but was ruled out on the final injury report. Gilbert has been the team's starting right tackle, but aggravated a significant shoulder injury in Week 5. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos 2,847 Posted October 17, 2011 I think the Jags lose, but I also think their defense gives Ben plenty of trouble. 13 23 I was *this* close to saying 17-13 Steelers, lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
